The 8 Books That Changed My Life

They probably won't change yours, though.

Some books come at the right time and in the right place. They reach out a hand and pull you out of the quicksand, or they wrap you in a warm hug when you’re feeling cold and alone. Sometimes, they provide the key that unlocks door after door in your mind, and you have to sit down until the clicking stops. They insert a simple thought that acts as a gravity well for other thoughts that have been spinning around in your head uncontrollably. Suddenly, a new solar system is formed in your head, an ordered dance with beautiful music.

Each of these books offered me something profound. I walked away from them changed forever. Other books left their marks, but these were the headwaters.

I’m not claiming they’ll do the same for you, but they all played a part in who I am today. And expect for one, I still consider them worth reading.

A House for My Name by Peter Leithart

I knew my Bible trivia before this book. I could quote verses and make arguments. But I hadn’t seen the Bible. It wasn’t real to me. I had grown disenchanted with the church tradition I grew up in, with its strict separation of Old and New Testaments and its apathy toward art. The Bible was simply a fruit that one took to suck out the juice, then discard the rind.

This book reached inside my ribcage and squeezed my heart until it started beating again. Seeing the Bible as one story, with one continuous thread that frays in interesting ways but always comes back together with brilliance, was a revelation to my 22-year-old self.

My zeal for Bible knowledge begins with this book. Although it’s not my favorite book anymore, I’ll forever be grateful.

The Resurrection of the Son of God by NT Wright

Leithart introduced me to Wright. The Resurrection of the Son of God, along with the first two books of Wright’s Christian Origins and the Question of God series, gave me a more robust intellectual basis for my faith. The first book introduced me to the concept of epistemology, for which I owe it a debt, but the third book was a revelation. It dives into the history of what people meant when they said “resurrection,” beginning with Homer and tracing it all the way through the Jews and then to Paul in the New Testament.

When the Bible speaks of “resurrection,” it means bodily resurrection. Nothing else. I credit this book with solidifying my view of the goodness of creation and the body. It began my journey toward a more optimistic eschatology. It left a deep impression on me, one so deep I can still feel its contours twenty years later.

It also led me to Doug Wilson’s blog series of NT Wrights and Wrongs, way back in 2007, and the rest is history.

Dune by Frank Herbert

I first read Dune when I was 15 or 16, and afterward, I knew I wanted to write fiction. The need burned within me, blossoming in sparks at my fingertips that I couldn’t control very well, and I’ve been trying to write fiction ever since.

The imagination. The world-building. I had seen what was possible, and I strove to emulate. Every writer has a book like this in their history, the one that staked a claim on their heart, for better or worse. For me, that book is Dune. I didn’t get around to reading the sequels until a decade later. I would just read Dune again.

My love of speculative fiction, in general, begins here as well.

The Victory of Reason by Rodney Stark

Stark’s book was the first time I was presented with some of the glories of Western Civilization and the inheritance it owed to Christianity. In particular, why the West developed science in ways beyond other civilizations.

While Christian history has several obvious warts, we should not ignore the strength and vitality of the rest of the body. I did not need to be sheepish or embarrassed about the “Dark Ages.” In fact, I had been lied to.

Perelandra by C.S. Lewis

This is the first Lewis book that cut me to the heart, beckoning me to lift my head and live up to my birthright. Admittedly, I read Lewis in an unorthodox order, at least from what I’ve gathered from other Christians. I had read the Chronicles of Narnia and then went straight to his Space Trilogy because, in my pride, I wanted to avoid the typical stuff that everyone had read.

I was captivated by the middle book, Perelandra. Its vision of a pre-fall Eden, daring to imagine what a victory and enthronement might mean, still gives me chills. And it does so by elevating the Incarnation in ways I had never thought of before. Wright’s The Resurrection of the Son of God spoke to my mind about these topics, but Perelandra called to my heart.

John Adams by David McCullough

This was the first full biography I read, and it was enough to get me addicted. Through it, I learned that the meaning of history can change depending on what is left out and what is emphasized. I had no idea it could be so rich and so fun. It was like finding a gold mine and then realizing someone left buckets of emeralds and diamonds in the darkest corners of the tunnels. Treasure upon treasure.

I thought I knew something about the American Revolution. After reading this book, I realized I knew nothing and would never know everything.

But I would have fun trying.

Notes from the Tilt-a-Whirl by N.D. Wilson

What was started by Wright and nurtured by Lewis was brought to greater maturity by Wilson. His full-throated, joyous meditation on the goodness of creation, the inadequacy of human philosophies, and the confidence found in faith dotted some I’s and crossed some forlorn T’s. I still reread this one occasionally, and it’s one all my kids will read.

The 4-Hour Work Week by Tim Ferriss

This isn’t a book I’d recommend anymore, but I do owe a debt to the author. In order to build something, you must first think that it is possible to build and then have a vision for it. This book provided both. It’s what got me started on my journey to building online businesses. With varying levels of success and massive failures. It’s safe to say that this current Substack wouldn’t exist without The 4-Hour Work Week. Everyone has to start somewhere, and that is where I started long ago.

These days, I’d point people to other gates and paths.

Which books changed your life, turned you inside out, or gave you wings?